By LD Jackson
Political Realities
The more I look at and examine Ron Paul and the principled stance he has taken on any particular issue, the more I wonder why I didn’t support him before now.
Some people call him a crazy old man who doesn’t live in this reality, but the facts are somewhat different than that. What he is, is simple. Ron Paul is a man who has strong beliefs on the size and scope of our government and how it should conduct itself, both here at home and abroad. He has strong beliefs on how our economy works and the role of government in managing said economy. Oh, and one more thing. He has the principles to stand by those beliefs, even when abandoning them would probably result in his gaining more votes in the Republican primary.
Let’s look at some examples, the more obvious of them. We could talk about what Ron Paul believes about abortion. He has been accused of not being pro-life, but the facts do not bear that out. More than once, I have heard him speak about walking in on an abortion in progress and how it troubled him that a hospital would be trying to save premature babies in one ward and killing them in another. He is strongly pro-life, but he also believes it is not the place of the federal government to deal with this issue. He wants to give it back to the states to decide if abortion should be allowed or not, and if so, what kind of restrictions should be placed on the practice.
Moving to another social issue, let us examine Paul’s stance on homosexual marriage. He doesn’t talk about it much, but he has refused to support any and all attempts to define marriage on the federal level. It doesn’t matter if the definition is “one man and one woman” or includes anything else. He is against it on the federal level, believing it should be left up to the states. He has said he is in favor of allowing homosexuals to marry, as long as they do not impose their relationship on anyone else.
As I have been following Paul’s campaign closely, I have learned a couple of things. First, he is running a much better campaign in Iowa than he is being given credit for. Secondly, it is clearly apparent that he would gain the support of many social conservatives in Iowa, if he were to modify his stance on both of the two issues I have mentioned. Bob Vander Plaats social conservative advocacy group, The Family Leader, has removed Ron Paul from consideration for it’s endorsement, citing “sanctity of human life” and “God’s design for marriage” as their reasons for doing so. I am no expert on these matters, but I have to believe Ron Paul knows this. He also has to know how much support he would receive, were he to modify the positions he has taken over the years. Instead, he shows just how principled he is and sticks to his guns.
During the recent Thanksgiving Family Forum in Iowa, he had the chance to change his positions, in front of some 3,000 social conservatives, yet he remained true to his beliefs. Not only did he remain true, he reiterated his belief that the law can not be used to legislate morality. Even in the face of criticism, he stuck to his beliefs.
Moving to another area that causes concern among many Republicans, let’s look at Ron Paul’s stance on foreign policy. Given the fact that he has been preaching how he stands on our foreign involvement for years, Paul has to know how this goes over with some members of the GOP. During the CNN foreign policy debate, he was the lone wolf on the stage. With everyone else spouting off about what we need to do about Iran, Paul again stayed with what he believes. He has even went so far as to suggest we should stop being so supportive, financially speaking, of Israel, saying we are making them to dependent on us. Those two issues alone have cost him the support of many in the GOP. He has been accused of being guilty of antisemitism and of not caring if Iran gains a nuclear weapon. Again, we have two issues that would allow Ron Paul to gain the support of certain groups among the GOP, but instead of modifying his positions, he stays with his core beliefs.
I think this highlights one of the main reasons I support Ron Paul. He has principles and the backbone to stick with those principles, no matter the consequences. There are a lot of politicians who change their position with the wind. What was it we used to accuse Bill Clinton of; taking a poll before he made a decision? With Ron Paul, what you see is what you get. You may not like everything he says and I will be the first to mention that I do not agree with him 100% of the time, but I respect him. It doesn’t matter if it is in 2001 or 2011, he has not strayed from his core conviction that our government has advanced far past it’s constitutional role. Even in the face of big government advocates from both parties, and in the face of those who seem intent on driving us into war with Iran, he has the principles to keep the same positions on the issues that he has held for years. Not a lot of politicians can say that and I believe it speaks well for the Congressman from Texas, Dr. Ron Paul.
Where Is Our Loyalty?
I was faced with something this weekend that I had not seen before. After writing my post about The Principles of Ron Paul, I submitted it to the Huck’s Army Forum. This is a forum that arose out of the candidacy of Mike Huckabee in 2007/2008 and it is a very active community. I have been a member, albeit not a very active member, since shortly after it’s creation. My intention was rather benign in nature. I felt there would be some that would appreciate the principles Ron Paul has stood for over the years. My naivety was quickly shot down and I discovered just how strongly some people dislike Ron Paul.
Some of the comments I received on that thread were legitimate concerns about Paul’s view on social conservative issues and I tried to address them as best I could. The fifth comment is the one that disturbed me the most. I am including it here so my readers can get the full context of the discussion.
Just Google the hypocrisy of Ron Paul. He is one of 4 Republicans that refused to sign the No Earmark petition. He gets millions in earmarks.
Can you tell me what he has done for the party in his 20years in office? He bashed Reagan and quit the party. He still bashes our party more than he does the democrats. Now he says he wont rule out a 3rd party ticket. Sorry but I think that says alot about his party loyalty and his concern for our country. His views on legalizing drugs are insane. Yes,lets just make it legal so everybody can afford to get stoned 24/7.
No one can tell you who to vote for, but I hope you will take a little more time before you decide.
Here is my reply to that comment.
Just because you can get a lot of results by searching on Google doesn’t necessarily make them true. He refuses to sigh the no earmark petition because he believes it is wrong. He believes every dime Congress spends should be earmarked because it keeps the power of the purse in Congress, where it belongs.
As for party loyalty, he is loyal to our country, not to a political party. If we had more politicians that were loyal in that fashion, Congress wouldn’t be in such a mess.
As for legalizing drugs, that isn’t the case. He does think the war on drugs has not worked and I am inclined to believe him. In spite of the millions of dollars that the federal government has spent on fighting drugs, is it any better? Is drug use on the decline? I think we all know the answer to that. What he is in favor of is allowing the states to make the decision about drugs. That is where the Constitution places that burden. Saying Ron Paul wants to make drug use legal so everyone can get stoned is disingenuous, at best.
When you examine Ron Paul and the stances he has taken on the issues, you will find one thing. He has a consistent record of standing up for personal liberty and individual freedom. No other politician I know can say that.
I am more disturbed by the portion of the comment that questions Ron Paul’s loyalty than I am by any of the other claims. It makes me wonder exactly where the loyalty of some people is placed. Are we to blindly follow a political party, no matter what they say or do? Maybe that’s what the parties expect and want, but isn’t that part of what got us into this mess to begin with?
For far too long, the citizens of America have followed along behind their favorite political party, never questioning, just voting for the R or the D. If we had more voters and more members of Congress who refused to blindly follow what their leaders told them, then I contend again that we wouldn’t have a Congress that has been a do nothing Congress for many years. Consequently, we would not be in the fiscal hole that we are in. Instead, here we are, with very few options left to us to salvage our fiscal condition.
If it sounds like I am more than a little put out by the insinuation that voting for Ron Paul is not being loyal to the Republican Party, then so be it. That doesn’t mean I want to see a third political party rise up. That could lead to the Democrats taking completely over. I do think it is high time we stopped playing follow the leader so well that we could win a gold medal. Until we do, we have no chance of winning the fight to save our country.
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